Time Line Project

We are continuing this ongoing project in an attempt to place events in chronological order so that you can relate what was happening here in Bullitt County to events within the state, and nation. Please note that we know it is incomplete. It will be updated occasionally as we add more to it.

Because datable events did not occur in what is now Kentucky prior to about 1750, we are beginning our timeline at 1700. Also, when you see this image it is a link to another page that has more information about the subject. Note that you will have to use your BACK button to return to the timeline.

If you know of an event of local history that you think should be included, use the link above and go to our contact page where you can drop us a note.

The construction of Fort Ponchartrain du Detroit (present day Detroit, Michigan) was begun 24 Jul 1701 by a group led by the Frenchman, Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac.

1702

1703

1704

1705

1706

1707

1708

1709

1710

1711

1712

1713

1714

Immigrants from the Siegerland area in Germany arrived in Virginia in 1714 and were settled in what was once the westernmost outpost of colonial Virginia. They were the beginning of what was to become the Germanna Colonies.

1715

1716

1717

In 1717 a second group of German families, these from the Palatinate and Baden-Wuerttemberg area of Germany, joined the earlier German settlers. Many descendants of these two colonies later settled in Kentucky.

1718

New Orleans was founded in 1718 by the French as Nouvelle-Orléans, under the direction of Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville.

1719

1720

1721

1722

1723

1724

1725

1726

1727

1728

1729

1730

1731

The first American public library is founded in Philadelphia by Benjamin Franklin in 1731.

1732

Vincennes was established in 1732 as a French fur trading post.

1733

1734

In Nov 1734, New York newspaper publisher John Peter Zenger is arrested and accused of seditious libel.

1735

In 1735 Zenger is brought to trial for seditious libel but is acquitted after his lawyer successfully convinces the jury that truth is a defense against libel.

In 1749 French soldiers under Major Pierre-Joseph Celoron de Blainville, with their Indian allies, buried leaden plates in the upper Ohio River Valley stating France's claim to the region.

Dr. Thomas Walker led first organized English expedition on record into Kentucky on 13 Apr 1750.

1750

Christopher Gist traveled the Ohio River nearly to the Falls of the Ohio and then through Kentucky during the winter and spring of 1750-51.

1751

1752

1753

Thomas Bullitt served as a cadet with George Washington at Fort Necessity in 1754 and was commissioned an ensign, effective 22 July.

1754

In 1754 the French and Indian War erupts as a result of disputes over land in the Ohio River Valley.

Thomas Bullitt was promoted to lieutenant when Washington became colonel of the reorganized Virginia Regiment 20 Aug. 1755

1755

1756

1757

As a captain in Col. William Byrd's 2d Virginia Regiment, Thomas Bullitt was commended in 1758 for his bravery at Col. James Grant's defeat before Fort Duquesne

1758

In Nov 1758, the French abandon Fort Duquesne in the Ohio territory.

Thomas Bullitt's conduct when his company suffered heavy casualties near Fort Ligonier in 1759 was initially critized, but he was found innocent of any charges.

1759

1760

The 1760's saw numerous parties of long hunters venture into Kentucky, Tennessee, and as far as the Illinois territory.

1761

1762

1763

On February 10, New France was ceded to the British Empire at the conclusion of the French and Indian War.

Proclamation of 1763 by King George III attempts to close the Kentucky frontier to settlement.

1764

1765

In May 1765, the first medical school in America is founded, in Philadelphia.

1766

1767

On 5 Nov 1768 the Iroquois Indians (Six Nations) signed the treaty of Fort Stanwix, ceding the Kentucky portion of the colony of Virginia to the British. Other tribes, particularly the Shawnee, Delaware, and Cherokee were not involved.

1768

The Daniel Boone and John Finley hunting party of "Long Hunters" entered Kentucky in the spring of 1769.

1769

In July 1769, in the Spanish territory of California, San Diego is founded by Franciscan Friar Juniper Serra.

1770

"The Boston Massacre" - 5 Mar 1770

1771

On 3 Dec 1772, Thomas Bullitt advertised in The Virginia Gazette his intention to led a party of surveyors down the Ohio River to survey claims, especially related to those held by officers and soldiers of the French and Indian War.

1772

On 29 Jun 1773, John Connolly wrote a letter to George Washington in which he carefully described the Falls of the Ohio.

Captain Thomas Bullitt reaches Falls of the Ohio in July 1773.

1773

"Boston Tea Party" - 16 Dec 1773

In the spring of 1774 Capt. John Floyd led a party of surveyors, including James Douglas, Isaac Hite, Alexander Spotswood Dandridge, Thomas Hanson (who kept a journal), James Knox, Frederick McCra, and Mordicai Batson, into Kentucky to locate and survey land for some veterans of the French and Indian War.

Oldest permanent settlement west of the Alleghenies was founded in 1774 on the Wilderness Road as Harrodstown (later Oldtown, then Harrodsburg) by James Harrod and his pioneer group.

On 12 Jun 1774, James Douglas surveyed 1000 acres for William Christian that included a salt spring and buffalo lick which later became known as Bullitt's Lick.

In June 1774, John Floyd's group of surveyors viewed the mouth of a large creek upstream from the future site of Shepherdsville, and named it for Floyd.

John Connolly and John Campbell advertised in The Virginia Gazette on 7 Apr 1774, that they planned to lay out a town and sell lots at the Falls of the Ohio.

In Lord Dunmore's War, at the Battle of Point Pleasant, fought on 10 Oct 1774 between Virginia militia and Indians from the Shawnee and Mingo tribes, victory went to the militia, and the Shawnee agreed in the Treaty of Camp Charlotte to give up their hunting grounds.

On 1 Apr 1775, Daniel Boone, Richard Henderson and their companions, reached the southern bank of the Kentucky River, and began to build a fort, afterwards known as Boonesborough.

1775

Revolutionary War begins with Battles of Lexington and Concord on 19 Apr 1775.

On 15 Jun 1775, the Second Continental Congress unanimously votes to appoint George Washington general and commander-in-chief of the new Continental Army.

Joseph and Marsham Brashear visited the forks of Floyds Fork and Salt River in the Spring or Summer of 1776, establishing their claim to land there later on.

Kentucky County created out of Fincastle County, Virginia on 31 Dec 1776.

1776

Declaration of Independence - 4 Jul 1776

1777

At Valley Forge in Pennsylvania, the Continental Army led by Washington sets up winter quarters on 17 Dec 1777.

In February 1778, Thomas Bullitt died at his home in Fauquier, Virginia, at the age of forty-eight.

In late May or early June 1778, George Rogers Clark selected Corn Island next to the future site of Louisville for his camping ground and supply depot.

On the morning of 24 June 1778, a near-total eclipse of the sun was seen in the vicinity of Corn Island.

In the fall (likely October) of 1778, Major William Linn returned to the Falls with some of Clark's men, and then built a crude fort on the Kentucky side of the river.

1778

In July 1778 a force led by George Rogers Clark captured the villages and forts of Kaskaskia, Cahokia, and Vincennes from the British. The British under Henry Hamilton retook Vincennes.

Colonel William Fleming wrote in his journal that he visited "Bullets Creek" on 13 Nov 1779, and found considerable saltmaking activity in progress with at least 25 kettles in operation.

On 25 Dec 1779, Colonel Fleming wrote that he had heard of Indian attacks near Brashear's Station, and that people had abandoned the salt works.

Sometime in mid-winter of 1779-80, Colonel Daniel Trabue visited Bullitt's Lick to make salt and found little activity there.

1779

In Feb 1779 Clark returned to Vincennes in a surprise winter expedition and retook the town, capturing Hamilton in the process. This was Clark's most significant military achievement and the source of his reputation as an early American military hero.

In May 1779 the Virginia General Assembly passed legislation that expanded the land patenting process to include acquisitions by Treasury Warrants. October 15, 1779 was the first date Treasury Warrants could be sold.

In the Fall of 1779, Americans suffer a major defeat while attacking the British at Savannah, Georgia. Among the casualties is Count Casimir Pulaski of Poland for whom Pulaski County is named.

Mud Garrison and Dowdall's Station built in Spring 1780.

George Rogers Clark began construction of Fort Jefferson near the mouth of the Ohio River on 19 Apr 1780.

Kentucky divided into Jefferson, Fayette, and Lincoln counties in 1780.

1780

On May 1, the inhabitants of settlement at the Falls of the Ohio petitioned the Virginia legislature to create the town of Louisville, and to protect their rights to the property they had settled.

In late March 1781, Benjamin Stansbury surveyed two tracts of land totaling 1500 acres in the name of Peter Shepherd of Baltimore. This land included the future site of Shepherdsville.

Ferry across Salt River at Dowdall's in operation by June 1781.

In 1781, somewhere perhaps close to Clear's Station, most of a large group of travelers were killed in an Indian ambush during the night. The survivors fled to Bullitt's Lick. This became known as the Westerfield Massacre.

1781

On 19 Oct 1781, the British surrender Yorktown which brings calls in the English Parliament for an end to the war.

Fort Nelson (Louisville) was established in 1782.

50 British rangers and 300 American Indians attacked Bryan's Station on 15 Aug 1782, a prelude to the Battle of Blue Licks, fought four days later. This was the final Revolutionary War battle fought in Kentucky.

1782

Colonel John Floyd killed by Indians near Clear's Cabins in April 1783

1783

England officially declares an end to hostilities in America on 4 Feb 1783.

Treaty of Paris ends Revolutionary War on 3 Sep 1783.

Walker Daniel, Kentucky's first Attorney General, and Geroge Keightly, a merchant from Ireland, were both killed by Indians in 1784 where the Wilderness Road crosses Brooks Run, near the cabin of Joseph Brooks.

Pope Cabin built across from Dowdall's Station by 1784.

In 1784, Abraham Lincoln, grandfather of the president, was killed by Indians near his home somewhere on Floyd's Creek.

1784

Joseph Brooks operated a tavern in his house on road between the Falls and the Saltworks in 1785.

Fort Nonsense erected across from mouth of Long Lick Creek by 1785.

Charles Broughton erected Long Lick saltworks by October 1785.

In 1785 Nelson County was created out of Jefferson County.

1785

Shortly after he arrived in the area, Colonel William Christian, the proprietor of Bullitt's Lick, was killed by Indians in 1786.

1786

1787

Henry Crist party ambushed by Indians on Salt River in May 1788.

Joseph Brooks built first saltworks at Mann's Lick in 1788.

1788

U.S. Constitution goes into effect on 21 Jun 1788. Virginia becomes tenth state to ratify it four days later.

1789

George Washington sworn in as the 1st President of the United States on 30 Apr 1789.

Kentucky County's population in 1790 was estimated at over 73,000 people which included over 12,000 slaves.

1790

1791

On November 4th, American forces led by General Arthur St. Clair suffered one of the worst defeats ever by American forces when defeated by British and Indian forces south of the Maumee River.

Bill of Rights ratified on 15 Dec 1791.

Kentucky the 15th state admitted to the Union - 1 Jun 1792. Isaac Shelby became its first governor.

1792

Shepherdsville established in 1793.

On 9 May 1793, Edward Thomas and others wrote a letter to Governor Isaac Shelby, petitioning for the deployment of men at the mouth of Salt River for protection against Indian attacks.

1793

In September 1794 the last Indian battle in Bullitt County occurred at the junction of Indian Run and Rolling Fork River.

1794

On August 20th, Mad Anthony Wayne led American forces that defeated a confederation of Indians at the Battle of Fallen Timbers.

Kentucky General Assembly authorized the opening of the Wilderness Road to wagon traffic in 1795.

1795

On August 3rd, in the Treaty of Fort Greenville, the Indians ceded most of Ohio and parts of Indiana, Illinois, and Michigan to the United States, opening that region to westward migration.

James Garrard became governor on 7 Jun 1796.

Kentucky General Assembly passed the act creating Bullitt County on 13 Dec 1796.

1796

Bullitt County officially came into existence on 1 Jan 1797.

1797

John Adams became president on 4 Mar 1797.

Eli Whitney patented his cotton gin on 14 Mar 1797.

Jonathan Irons opened a saltworks near site of Fort Nonsense in 1798.

1798

Inspection stations for tobacco, hemp, and flour were established by the state in three Bullitt County locations.

Charles Dunn, who would become the first chief justice of the Supreme Court of Wisconsin Territory (1836), was born at Bullitt Old Licks in Bullitt County on 28 Dec 1799.

On 14 Feb 1861 the General Assembly approved an act to incorporate the town of Pitts Point.

Most of the Company "B," Sixth Kentucky Volunteer Infantry were mustered in at Shepherdsville in November 1861.

1861

The Confederate States of America is formed on 4 Feb 1861.

Abraham Lincoln became president on 4 Mar 1861.

Three attempts were made in September 1862 to destroy the railroad bridge at Shepherdsville. On the 7th, Confederate forces captured the stockade on the south bank of Salt River and tried to burn the railroad bridge. They failed due to the bridge's mostly iron construction. On the 21st, a second attempt was made, but was repulsed by Union forces. Then on the 28th, the Confederate Fourth Tennessee regiment took Shepherdsville with orders to destroy the bridge. Lacking necessary powder and drills, they were unable to destroy the bridge before being driven from town by advancing Union forces.

1862

1863

The Homestead Act becomes law on 1 Jan 1863, allowing settlers to claim 160 acres of land after they had lived on it for 5 years.

On January 1, 1863, the Emancipation Proclamation went into effect.

Union forces under Major General Meade defeated the forces led by Confederate General Lee at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania on 3 July 1863.

Union forces led by Major General Grant, occupied Vicksburg, Mississippi on 4 July 1863, following a forty day siege of the city.

St. Margaret Catholic Chapel established in Pitts Point in 1864.

The Shepherdsville voting district was expanded by the General Assembly

1864

On 27 Feb 1865 the Kentucky General Assembly incorporated the Bullitt's Lick Petroleum Company under the names of B. R. Young and Richard H. Field.

1865

The Confederate States of America surrender at Appomattox Courthouse, ending the Civil War on 9 Apr 1865.

Abraham Lincoln was assassinated on 15 Apr 1865, and Andrew Johnson became president on that day.

Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution ratified on 6 Dec 1865.

By 1866 ironworks in Shepherdsville closed.

1866

On 7 Mar 1867 the General Assembly approved an act to incorporate Butler Lodge of the "Free and Accepted Ancient York Masons" located at Pitts Point.

1867

The United States purchases the Alaska Territory from Russia on 30 Mar 1867.

1868

Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution ratified on 9 Jul 1868.

Of over 3,900 Union soldiers interred at Cave Hill Cemetery by 1869, 13 had been removed from the vicinity of Shepherdsville, and another 23 from the vicinity of Belmont in Bullitt County.

1869

Ulysses S. Grant became president on 4 Mar 1869.

The first transcontinental railroad in America was completed on 10 May 1869.

The population of Bullitt County was 7,781 in 1870.

Pitts Point was a small community of 98 people according to the census.

In March 1871 the Kentucky General Assembly passed an act giving the people of Bullitt County the right to vote on prohibiting the county government from issuing licenses to sell intoxicating beverages within the county. In August the people voted to prohibit such sales.

John D. Colmesnil sold Paroquet Springs to newly formed Paroquet Springs Company on 28 Apr 1871.

Colmesnil died 30 Jul 1871.

1871

The Great Chicago Fire burned started Sunday 8 Oct 1871, killing hundreds and destroying about four square miles in Chicago.

1872

1873

In January 1874 the Kentucky General Assembly passed a "local option" law under which the people of Bullitt County subsequently voted to allow the sale of intoxicating beverages withing the county.

Eight homes were destroyed, and 29 more were damaged as an F3 tornado moved east from two miles south of Shepherdsville over a path 100-200 feet wide from near Bardstown Junction to just north of Clermont on 10 May 1969.

1969

Richard M. Nixon became president on 20 Jan 1969.

Apollo 11 astronaut Neal Armstrong became the first human to set foot on the moon on 20 Jul 1969.

Bullitt Central High School opens in Fall 1970. Former high schools in Shepherdsville, Mt. Washington, and Lebanon Junction become junior high schools.

1970

Bullitt County Red Cross services expanded to include the WHEELS transportation program in 1971.

1971

Twenty-Sixth Amendment to the Constitution, lowering voting age to 18, is ratified on 1 Jul 1971.

1972

The last remaining American ground troops were withdrawn from Vietnam in August 1972.

1973

The Paris Peace Accords, signed on 27 Jan 1973, ended direct U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War.

Skylab was launched in 1973 as the America's first experimental space station.

The tenth anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks passed without incident.

A new Bullitt County DAR Chapter was formed in December 2012.

2012

Barack Obama re-elected president in November 2012.

London, England hosts the Olympic Games in July 2012.

Bullitt County portion of Highway 61 dedicated as the "Henry Mattingly Memorial Highway" in August 2013.

Bullitt County Memories book published in December 2013.

2013

Multiple bombs exploded during the Boston Marathon in April 2013.

2014

Frank R. Hatfield, longtime superintendent of Bullitt County Schools, died in November 2015.

More Bullitt County Memories book published in the Fall of 2015.

2015

Henry Crist, Businessman on the Kentucky Frontier; The Crist Families in Kentucky was published in March 2016.

The Bullitt East Youth Chamber of Preservationists restored a historic mile marker in Mt. Washington with a new stone base and a time capsule in May 2016.

2016

Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia died 13 Feb 2016.

New 1917 Train Wreck book published in August.

Memoriam honoring the 100th Anniversary of the 1917 Train Wreck held at Shepherdsville Library (See transcript.)

2017

2018

This is a work in progress. The webpage is copyright 2014 by Charles Hartley, Shepherdsville KY. All rights are reserved. No part of the content of this page may be included in any format in any place without the written permission of the copyright holder.

If you, the reader, have an interest in any particular part of our county history, and wish to contribute to this effort, use the form on our Contact Us page to send us your comments about this, or any Bullitt County History page. We welcome your comments and suggestions. If you feel that we have misspoken at any point, please feel free to point this out to us.

The Bullitt County History Museum, a service of the Bullitt County Genealogical Society, is located in the county courthouse at 300 South Buckman Street (Highway 61) in Shepherdsville, Kentucky. The museum, along with its research room, is open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday; and from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Thursday. Admission is free. The museum, as part of the Bullitt County Genealogical Society, is a 501(c)3 tax exempt organization and is classified as a 509(a)2 public charity. Contributions and bequests are deductible under section 2055, 2106, or 2522 of the Internal Revenue Code.
Page last modified: 15 Feb 2018
. Page URL:
bullittcountyhistory.org/bchistory/timeline.html